Huawei’s new flagship phone starts at CNY 5,999 and features the Kirin 9030 chip, HarmonyOS 7 and a three-camera setup.
Huawei has launched the Mate 90 in China with the Kirin 9030 chip, a 6,600mAh battery and 66W wired charging. The standard model in the new Mate 90 flagship series starts at CNY 5,999, or about $895.
The phone runs HarmonyOS 7 and brings a 6.75-inch flat display, three rear cameras and IP68 and IP69 protection. Huawei has not announced international pricing or availability yet.
Kirin 9030 chip
Huawei says the Kirin 9030 delivers a 27% overall performance increase over the Kirin 9020 used in the Mate 80. The company says its CPU is 13% faster, while GPU performance is 54% higher and NPU performance is 13% higher.
The Kirin 9030 is not a new chip. Huawei also used it in last year’s Mate 80 Pro. However, Huawei says the chip offers a clear performance gain over the Kirin 9020.
The processor supports hardware ray tracing at up to 31 million rays per second. Huawei tested the feature in Wuthering Waves, although it works only in certain scenes. Huawei also says its FFRT scheduling system can double image loading speeds.
Display and durability
The Mate 90 uses a 6.75-inch flat display and Huawei’s Xuanwu-style construction. It has third-generation Kunlun glass and nylon fiber material. Huawei says the glass offers more than 50% better drop resistance than the Mate 80 series.
The phone has IP68 protection for submersion of up to 6 metres. It also has an IP69 rating for high-temperature, high-pressure water jets. Huawei says these are laboratory ratings and do not guarantee permanent water resistance. Liquid damage is not covered by the warranty.
The touchscreen is designed to keep working when users have wet hands. The Mate 90 comes in Crystal Green, Crystal Pink, Zero White and Obsidian Black. The green and pink models have a lattice-pattern rear design.
Three rear cameras
Huawei has fitted three cameras on the back. The main camera uses a 50MP RYYB sensor with optical image stabilisation and a variable F1.4-F4.0 aperture.
The telephoto camera has a 50MP RYYB sensor, OIS, 4x optical zoom and 8x optical-quality zoom. The third camera is a 40MP RYYB ultrawide sensor with an F2.2 aperture.
The main camera also uses Huawei’s third-generation Red Maple primary-colour camera. Huawei says it improves colour accuracy by 37%.
The variable aperture gives users more control over focus and background blur. At F1.4, the camera can create more background blur. At F4.0, more of the scene can remain sharp.
Huawei’s XMAGE assistant can suggest shooting options in photo and portrait modes. Within the 4x zoom range, it can recommend 13 group poses or 14 composition layouts. Users must enable the composition suggestions manually.
The phone also has a live-streaming mode that can start a stream with one tap. It enables do-not-disturb and network acceleration. It also uses face and product recognition to move focus between subjects.
6,600mAh battery with 66W charging
The Mate 90 has a 6,600mAh battery with a rated capacity of 6,415mAh. This is an increase from the 5,750mAh battery in the Mate 80. Charging speeds remain unchanged.
Wired charging reaches 66W when used with a Huawei 66W or faster charger. Wireless charging reaches 50W with Huawei’s own wireless charger. Both charging speeds match those of the Mate 80.
Huawei also includes an outdoor mode that can extend battery life to up to 15 days. In this mode, Petal Maps can provide up to 36 hours of screen-off route navigation.
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The Mate 90 can switch between Wi-Fi and cellular antennas based on the connection. With up to four nearby HarmonyOS 7 devices, its multi-device network sharing can pool connections. Huawei says this can make file transfers up to 40% faster in crowded areas.
Satellite messaging and other features
The phone supports BeiDou satellite messaging, including picture messages. The feature is limited to mainland China and requires a clear view of the sky. Users must also activate it through MeeTime or their carrier before first use.
A paired Huawei watch can trigger an emergency call through the phone. For now, this feature works only between Huawei Mate 90 series phones.
The Mate 90 comes with HarmonyOS 7 and can connect with an iPhone. Supported features include call forwarding, file transfers and message notifications.
For security, Huawei has added a Mobile Security Processor with support for post-quantum cryptography for unlocking and payments. The phone also has voice-changer detection for carrier calls, MeeTime and WeChat.
Huawei says voice warnings are only an indication. The company also says they are not guaranteed to identify fake voices correctly.
Huawei Mate 90 price in China
In China, the Huawei Mate 90 starts at CNY 5,999 for the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage model. The 12GB+512GB version costs CNY 6,999, while the 12GB+1TB model costs CNY 8,499.
| Variant | Price in China |
|---|---|
| 12GB + 256GB | CNY 5,999 |
| 12GB + 512GB | CNY 6,999 |
| 12GB + 1TB | CNY 8,499 |
The Mate 90 is currently listed in four colours in China: Crystal Green, Crystal Pink, Zero White and Obsidian Black. The green and pink versions have the lattice-pattern rear design.
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